Copper Fouling: Why It Can Hurt a Rifle’s Accuracy

No matter how thoroughly you've cleaned your gun, you may unknowingly have something left behind that can seriously hurt the accuracy of your rifle. What is this substance that's so bad it can actually cause your rifle to not fire as accurately as it should? Copper! That's right, rifles often get a buildup of copper in the barrel, and when this copper sticks to the barrel, it often creates a tight spot that affects how the bullet goes through. What's worse, this also makes the barrel asymmetrical, which can definitely affect how the bullet travels through it.

Not everyone realizes that this is such a problem, or that how they clean their gun may actually be contributing to the problem. Some people even think it's not a big deal if there's just a little bit of residue, but it's not necessarily the quantity that's the problem. Yes, more copper is worse, but even a little can throw off your shot. Plus, copper residue just attracts more copper residue as additional bullets travel through the barrel, making the problem even worse!

To learn more about why copper fouling is such a problem, please continue to Page (2) for the full explanation.